[Congressional Record Volume 142, Number 110 (Wednesday, July 24, 1996)]
[House]
[Pages H8251-H8252]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




           SHEDDING CROCODILE TEARS FOR AUSTRALIAN TAXPAYERS

  (Mr. TRAFICANT asked and was given permission to address the House 
for 1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. TRAFICANT. Mr. Speaker, I thought only American families spent an 
average of $6,000 a year on burdensome regulations, but I guess 
Australia has come forward spending millions of dollars on a study to 
determine the dangers of crocodiles. And after millions, here is what 
they have determined.
  First, never put your hand in a crocodile's mouth.
  Second, never ride a crocodile. They can really hurt you.
  Third, never try to collect crocodile eggs or baby crocs. Mama 
crocodiles get real mad.
  And, finally, never ever attempt to capture a crocodile, especially 
if it is bigger than your boat.
  Beam me up, Mr. Speaker. This is a crock of what? One thing for sure, 
America is not the only government that wastes money. But evidently the 
bureaucrat training school for meaningless redtape and regulations in 
America is now open to all of the government workers of the world, 
especially Australia.
  I yield back the balance of all those crocodile tears for those 
Australian taxpayers.

[[Page H8252]]



                                MEDICARE

  (Ms. DeLAURO asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute and to revise and extend her remarks.)
  Ms. DeLAURO. Mr. Speaker, the American people have a right to know 
where their elected officials stand on issues. And America's seniors 
have a right to know what their elected officials want to do to 
Medicare. House Speaker Newt Gingrich has been quoted as saying that he 
wants Medicare to ``wither on the vine.'' Now the Republicans are 
saying he did not mean that. They are trying to get an ad that uses 
Speaker Gingrich's quote off the air.
  Well, Mr. Speaker, the Republicans are trying to rewrite history, 
claiming that Speaker Gingrich meant that the Health Care Financing 
Administration would wither on the vine not Medicare. But as the New 
York Times pointed out on Saturday ``Not only is it hard to imagine how 
individuals--except perhaps its employees--could leave the agency, this 
is only one of the explanations Mr. Gingrich gave at the time.''
  The Republican budget proposes $168 billion in Medicare cuts over the 
next 6 years. All to pay for tax breaks for the wealthy. Truth in 
advertising--it is what the American people demand and what they need 
to hear.

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